Are private daycares under Mayor’s orders?

[Anonymous]

Our daycare just sent an email that we are required to submit a negative rapid test before coming back on January 3rd. They’re saying it’s due to the Mayor’s orders that everyone entering a school needs to have a negative rapid test. This is a privately operated daycare. Are we subject to the Mayor’s orders? FWIW, we are fine with the testing and think it’s a good idea. I’m just confused about a daycare being held to the same standards as DCPS.

[Anonymous]

All daycares are subject to health and safety regulations.

[Anonymous]

Aren’t all businesses?

[Anonymous]

I don’t think the Mayor ordered test-to-return, did she? I think that was DCPS itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All daycares are subject to health and safety regulations.

Sure, but there’s no regulation requiring a negative test to return to anything. This is just a DCPS policy.

OP, while it is possible the daycare honestly believes there’s a requirement imposed in them, I think it is much more likely they’re just using the DCPS announcement as cover for what they want to impose themselves.

[Anonymous]

OP here. This is what I’m trying to figure out. My daycare follows OSSE guidance, which I think all DC licensed daycares are required to follow. But I can’t easily find those regulations, what applies to daycares vs DCPS. I think my daycare believes they are subject to Mayor’s orders, I just can’t find proof of that online so that I can provide actual language to my daycares administrative team. Again, I am for masking and negative tests, but I’m finding that my daycare is seeming to implement policy when it benefits their narrative and it seems they are cherry-picking what regulations to follow and which to ignore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. This is what I’m trying to figure out. My daycare follows OSSE guidance, which I think all DC licensed daycares are required to follow. But I can’t easily find those regulations, what applies to daycares vs DCPS. I think my daycare believes they are subject to Mayor’s orders, I just can’t find proof of that online so that I can provide actual language to my daycares administrative team. Again, I am for masking and negative tests, but I’m finding that my daycare is seeming to implement policy when it benefits their narrative and it seems they are cherry-picking what regulations to follow and which to ignore.

You are correct that child care centers need to follow OSSE regs for child development programs, which sometimes differ from DCPS regs for health and safety protocols. Many child care programs choose to follow the lead of DCPS when setting policies (like snow day policies, for example). So it is reasonable for a program to choose to do that. OSSE child care regs generally take longer to change, so I doubt that OSSE has updated them the way DCPS has made this new test to return to school policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. This is what I’m trying to figure out. My daycare follows OSSE guidance, which I think all DC licensed daycares are required to follow. But I can’t easily find those regulations, what applies to daycares vs DCPS. I think my daycare believes they are subject to Mayor’s orders, I just can’t find proof of that online so that I can provide actual language to my daycares administrative team. Again, I am for masking and negative tests, but I’m finding that my daycare is seeming to implement policy when it benefits their narrative and it seems they are cherry-picking what regulations to follow and which to ignore.

Of course they’re going to try to pass the buck. If they acknowledged it was their own policy then they’d be acknowledging that they’re breaking the contract. Probably no one would try to pull their kids of of daycare, but if they did then the parents would almost certainly be able to do so without penalty.

[Anonymous]

I don't mind our LO's private daycare required all kids to submit a negative PCR test (not rapid test) before coming back on January 3rd.I am taking my family to get PCR test today even we have no known exposure/risk/travel and daycare not requesting it. Most kids are unvaccinated under 5 at our daycare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't mind our LO's private daycare required all kids to submit a negative PCR test (not rapid test) before coming back on January 3rd.I am taking my family to get PCR test today even we have no known exposure/risk/travel and daycare not requesting it. Most kids are unvaccinated under 5 at our daycare.

Cool story. Completely irrelevant to the subject of this thread.

[Anonymous]

If you don't mind the request to test, why are you spending energy looking for "proof" that they aren't required to ask you to test? Just be glad they are trying to keep everyone safe and stay open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. This is what I’m trying to figure out. My daycare follows OSSE guidance, which I think all DC licensed daycares are required to follow. But I can’t easily find those regulations, what applies to daycares vs DCPS. I think my daycare believes they are subject to Mayor’s orders, I just can’t find proof of that online so that I can provide actual language to my daycares administrative team. Again, I am for masking and negative tests, but I’m finding that my daycare is seeming to implement policy when it benefits their narrative and it seems they are cherry-picking what regulations to follow and which to ignore.

Of course they’re going to try to pass the buck. If they acknowledged it was their own policy then they’d be acknowledging that they’re breaking the contract. Probably no one would try to pull their kids of of daycare, but if they did then the parents would almost certainly be able to do so without penalty.

What part of the contract are they breaking by asking that kids test for a contagious disease and stay home if infected?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. This is what I’m trying to figure out. My daycare follows OSSE guidance, which I think all DC licensed daycares are required to follow. But I can’t easily find those regulations, what applies to daycares vs DCPS. I think my daycare believes they are subject to Mayor’s orders, I just can’t find proof of that online so that I can provide actual language to my daycares administrative team. Again, I am for masking and negative tests, but I’m finding that my daycare is seeming to implement policy when it benefits their narrative and it seems they are cherry-picking what regulations to follow and which to ignore.

You are correct that child care centers need to follow OSSE regs for child development programs, which sometimes differ from DCPS regs for health and safety protocols. Many child care programs choose to follow the lead of DCPS when setting policies (like snow day policies, for example). So it is reasonable for a program to choose to do that. OSSE child care regs generally take longer to change, so I doubt that OSSE has updated them the way DCPS has made this new test to return to school policy.

Is DCPS requiring it, or is OSSE? Does it apply to charger schools? If it does then it's not a DCPS rule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. This is what I’m trying to figure out. My daycare follows OSSE guidance, which I think all DC licensed daycares are required to follow. But I can’t easily find those regulations, what applies to daycares vs DCPS. I think my daycare believes they are subject to Mayor’s orders, I just can’t find proof of that online so that I can provide actual language to my daycares administrative team. Again, I am for masking and negative tests, but I’m finding that my daycare is seeming to implement policy when it benefits their narrative and it seems they are cherry-picking what regulations to follow and which to ignore.

You are correct that child care centers need to follow OSSE regs for child development programs, which sometimes differ from DCPS regs for health and safety protocols. Many child care programs choose to follow the lead of DCPS when setting policies (like snow day policies, for example). So it is reasonable for a program to choose to do that. OSSE child care regs generally take longer to change, so I doubt that OSSE has updated them the way DCPS has made this new test to return to school policy.

Is DCPS requiring it, or is OSSE? Does it apply to charger schools? If it does then it's not a DCPS rule.

Charter schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. This is what I’m trying to figure out. My daycare follows OSSE guidance, which I think all DC licensed daycares are required to follow. But I can’t easily find those regulations, what applies to daycares vs DCPS. I think my daycare believes they are subject to Mayor’s orders, I just can’t find proof of that online so that I can provide actual language to my daycares administrative team. Again, I am for masking and negative tests, but I’m finding that my daycare is seeming to implement policy when it benefits their narrative and it seems they are cherry-picking what regulations to follow and which to ignore.

Of course they’re going to try to pass the buck. If they acknowledged it was their own policy then they’d be acknowledging that they’re breaking the contract. Probably no one would try to pull their kids of of daycare, but if they did then the parents would almost certainly be able to do so without penalty.

What part of the contract are they breaking by asking that kids test for a contagious disease and stay home if infected?

Have you read your contract? There's a section on illnesses, but nothing about requiring tests when there's a lack of symptoms.